My Forever (Our Forever Book 3)

by Elena Matthews

  “Do you want to get out of here? I’m craving ice cream, and I know of a great place a few blocks away.”

  I should say no. I should bid her good night and walk out of her life, like I did last New Year’s Eve, but when I look into her stunning brown eyes, I can’t find it in me to deny her a single thing. For once, I choose to be selfish. Being in her presence is like finally seeing sunshine after a long month of rain. I just want to stay in her light for a little bit longer, if only for tonight. So, I say yes, and ten minutes later, we’re sitting opposite one another in a booth of a twenty-four-hour diner that apparently does the best ice cream sundaes.

  “So, what’s good here then?” I ask as I take hold of the menu, only to have it snatched from my grasp.

  “There’s only one on there that really matters. I tried your favorite beer; it’s only fair you try my favorite ice cream.”

  The waitress comes over to take our order, and Kaelyn orders the special ice cream sundae along with a couple of waters. Another ten minutes later, she smiles brightly as the waitress sets a mammoth over-the-top ice cream sundae that looks like a dessert from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. There is an array of bright, multicolored ice creams with two sticks of pink-and-blue cotton candy, a giant carnival lollipop, rock candy, sprinkles, whipped cream, and hot fudge.

  It’s as if a unicorn hurled up its breakfast and served it as a dessert.

  “What in the hell is that?” I ask, unable to keep the smirk from my face.

  Still smiling, she grabs her spoon and doesn’t waste a second to dig in. “The best ice cream sundae you will ever taste.”

  She scoops a spoonful of ice cream and sucks it into her mouth, and my eyes have trouble focusing on anything other than her plump lips. As the spoon falls from her lips, her head falls back, eyes fluttering closed as she savors the ice cream with the sweetest damn moan I’ve ever heard.

  “Good?” I ask when her eyes finally meet mine again.

  “Find out for yourself.”

  She hands me a spoon, and I take it but stare at the sundae, a little skeptical.

  “Why do I get the feeling that I’ll be crapping out rainbows for a week after eating this?”

  Kaelyn snorts with laughter as she helps herself to another heap of ice cream. “It’s a bit eccentric, I know, but you won’t have your man card revoked if you have just a little, I promise.” She winks.

  I grin as I help myself to a scoop, and I feel like I’m on trial for murder as she watches me like a hawk while I swallow the ice cream down.

  “Well?” she asks impatiently, swinging her spoon from side to side.

  “It’s pretty good, but if anyone asks, I had rocky road.”

  She rolls her eyes before giving herself another generous helping. My eyes instinctively fall to her lips and I watch her for a few long seconds as she sucks the spoon into her mouth. I can’t help my mind from going to that dark and dirty place that has me imagining her sucking something else between those rosy lips of hers, something that has my hips shifting uncomfortably against my straining jeans. She’s literally doing nothing but putting a spoon in her mouth, but she looks so damn sexy while she’s doing it.

  Shit, I shouldn’t be having thoughts like this, but just being in her presence makes it difficult to concentrate on anything but her. She’s so fucking beautiful, it hurts.

  “I never would have pegged you for a midnight-ice-cream kind of girl.”

  “I’m usually not, but after a few tequilas, if I don’t have access to any ice cream, things can turn pretty ugly.”

  “Good to know,” I say, unable to keep the smile off my face.

  God, this woman.

  She’s like a breath of fresh air, and tonight is the first night I’ve been able to catch my breath in a really long time.

  “So, it’s your turn,” Kaelyn tells me, and I remember we were playing Would You Rather on the walk over here.

  I’m thoughtful for a moment as I think of another question.

  “Okay, um, would you rather see how or what created civilization or see how or what ends civilization?”

  “Oh, that’s a good one,” she says with a mouthful of ice cream. “Well, if I saw how civilization was created, I’d get to meet Adam and see if he’s as hot as they say he is.” She giggles, and I chuckle along with her. “But seeing the end of civilization would be pretty cool, but only if I was already dead before it happened. Seeing the end of civilization if it happened before you died, you’d essentially be seeing your own death. I think your death should be kept a mystery, or you’d just be waiting for the day you died, and that’s just not the way I would want to live my life. So, if I were already dead when it happened, then I’d definitely want to see the end of civilization. My turn.”

  While she thinks for a beat, she continues to demolish the dessert, and I’m amazed at her skill for avoiding the dreaded brain freeze I always get when eating ice cream.

  “Oh, would you rather lose your genitalia or lose your dominant hand?”

  I blink. Then, I blink again. “You can’t ask a guy that question,” I protest.

  She nods her head. “Well, I can, and I just did. So, no dick or no right hand?”

  “How do you know I’m not left-handed?”

  “Because you signed with your right hand earlier. Unless you’re ambidextrous?”

  “I’m not, but if I were ambidextrous, I would get rid of a hand because there is no way I could live without my dick.”

  “I bet you couldn’t,” she says suggestively.

  “Not because of anything sexual.”

  “Oh, of course. I mean, when was the last time you played with yourself?” She grins.

  I burst out laughing at her brazenness.

  She points at me with her spoon. “And you’re not ambidextrous, so answer the question again.”

  I shake my head as I take a bite of ice cream, smiling around my spoon. “Okay, I would get rid of my right hand, and I would just teach myself to use my left as my dominant.”

  “Or you could get someone else to do it for you.” She waggles her eyebrows as she licks ice cream from the rim of her spoon.

  “I swear, you are just something else,” I say with a deep chuckle.

  For another ten minutes as we finish off the ice cream, we continue with the game and ask each other weird and wonderful questions. It’s fun, but after a while, I just want to know the trivial things. I want to know everything that makes Kaelyn, Kaelyn.

  “So, I now know that you’d prefer to use mustard for toothpaste, drink gravy for the rest of your life, and live forever and be ignorant instead of knowing everything and dying tomorrow, but I would love to know the basics.”

  “What kind of basics?”

  “You know, favorite color, favorite book. If you snore, if you prefer ice cream to frozen yogurt. How you learned how to be so damn flexible. If you have any siblings.”

  She places her spoon in the empty sundae dish and sits back in her seat. “My favorite color is pink. I don’t have a favorite book because I have way too many to count on my Kindle. I most definitely do not snore. Ice cream because frozen yogurt is a shitty comparison. I’ve always been flexible, and I have four younger brothers. One whose name is quite similar to yours,” she says with a laugh. “Jace.”

  I chuckle. “Wowza, you have four brothers?”

  “Yep. They’re the reason I know how to rap. It’s all they listened to. In fact, Jace was so obsessed with Eminem when he first came out that he dyed his hair blond.”

  “Jace sounds kind of awesome,” I comment, smiling.

  “What about you?” she asks.

  “Well, I’m an only child. My favorite color is navy blue. My favorite book is Of Mice and Men because it’s the only book I remember from high school. I unfortunately do snore. Ice cream all the way because you’re right; frozen yogurt is a shitty comparison. And, as you saw before, even with my double joints, my flexibility is shit poor.”

  “It really is,”
she agrees with a giggle.

  My heart constricts at the very sound. God, her laugh is just everything. Sweet and sexy. Incredible.

  “You can’t have always been flexible. What you did before takes some serious training. So, how about you give me a real answer?”

  “A real answer, huh?”

  “Always. I’m a realist. Give it to me.”

  She looks up to the ceiling and takes a deep inhale of breath before uncomfortably glancing back down to me. “I used to do ballet.”

  I arch a brow, impressed. “Ballet? Wow, that’s awesome.”

  Frown lines appear on her forehead as she shakes her head in disagreement. “It’s nothing. It was a long time ago, another life.”

  She brushes it off like it’s not a big deal, but I get the feeling there’s more to the ballet thing than she’s letting on, but seeing the anxiety hidden in the depths of her pretty brown eyes, I don’t push it. It’s obviously a hard subject for her, and I would hate to be the one to wipe that smile off her face. When she smiles, she lights up everything and everyone around her.

  Hell, she got me to smile, and before tonight, I almost forgot what smiling felt like.

  “How do you keep so flexible now?”

  Her eyes meet mine, humor dancing. “Wow, you really have a thing about my flexibility, huh?” she questions with a lighthearted giggle.

  “Sorry, but that kind of flexibility takes legit skill.”

  “If you really need to know, I teach yoga and pole dancing, so it keeps me flexible.”

  “You’re a jack of all trades, aren’t you?”

  “What can I say? I’m good at everything,” she mockingly boasts.

  “Without sounding ignorant, pole dancing? Is that really a thing?”

  She smiles around her straw as she takes a sip of water. “Yes, it’s not just a stripper’s game anymore. It’s actually an amazing way to keep fit. It really tones you up and helps build your upper body and core strength. Plus, it’s good fun.”

  “I bet you’re one hell of a teacher, especially going off that little move you did in the bar earlier.” Wow, am I flirting right now? I can’t remember when I last flirted.

  “I’ve never had any complaints.”

  I hear the underlining innuendo, and I suck back my water to stop myself from saying something highly inappropriate because, let me tell you, my head is currently filled with so many dirty things I could reply with, but I won’t. I decide a change of subject is needed.

  “Your friend is something, huh?”

  Kaelyn lets out a long breath, laughing lightly. “Yep, she’s crazy. No other way to describe her.”

  “Nah, she’s harmless really, but wow, I didn’t realize such a small person could have such a set of lungs on her. Loud much?”

  She barks out a laugh. “She’s known for her big mouth, but she’s a really good friend.”

  “I don’t doubt it. Um, she mentioned something earlier. You told her I was some mystery guy from New Year’s Eve?”

  Her cheeks glow a rosy shade of pink. “Um, yes. I knew she loved the Dallas Stars, and I just knew she would freak out if I told her about New Year’s Eve. Plus, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, so I wanted to keep New Year’s to myself. That, and I guessed anonymity isn’t something that is usually freely granted to you, so I kept my mouth shut. She probably would have spun that night into something it wasn’t, and with her big mouth, it wasn’t worth it, you know? She only knows it was you now, as I told her the moment I saw you tonight.”

  I give a nod of gratitude. “I had a really good night that night. Can I be honest?”

  Kaelyn leans forward, her eyes solely on me. “Sure.”

  I know I have no business telling her this, but since it’s highly doubtful I’ll see her again after tonight, I decide I have nothing to lose. “You know, if I hadn’t been married that night, it would have ended much differently than me just walking away with a simple wave.”

  “Can I be honest?” she asks a few beats later.

  “Yes.”

  “Out of everyone at that party that night, you were the only person I wanted hugging me.”

  I laugh, remembering her awesome T-shirt that said Hug Me on the front, and honestly, there was nothing more I wanted. But I was still married, and it wasn’t a line I would ever cross, not even with the state of my marriage at the time.

  The undeniable chemistry I had with Kaelyn, no matter how mind-blowing, wasn’t enough to stray from my wife even though that was exactly what she was doing and had been for several years. It wasn’t until a few months later, when I finally found the courage to file for divorce, that my life took a turn for the worse, and I lost not only my wife, but my sanity, too. Also, she stole a good chunk of my heart every time she injected herself with the devil poison and fell into another man’s arms—or should I say, fell onto another man’s dick. Time and time again.

  Honestly, I’m not sure there is any coming back from that. It’s scarred me in ways that even I don’t understand. I just know I’m left to pick up the pieces and suffer the aftereffects of a drug habit that wasn’t even mine.

  Damn it, Olivia.

  I glance down at my watch and see it’s nearing one in the morning. “Wow, it’s getting late. I have an early start in the morning. I should really call it a night.”

  I see Kaelyn staring intently at me, worry lines etched along her forehead, and know she senses the sudden change in me. I feel it coming off me in waves.

  “Yeah, me too, actually. Let’s get the check.”

  She turns in her seat to try to locate the waitress. A minute later, the waitress drops the check off, and before Kaelyn has a chance to grab it, I beat her to it. She instantly begins to protest, but I shake my head.

  “My treat. It’s only fair after all the beers you bought me.”

  She simply smiles as I take my wallet out. I slot some money into the check presenter and then set it down on the table.

  “Where do you live?” I ask Kaelyn as we step into the cold night air.

  She wraps her arms around her body, shivering a little. “Only a few blocks away.”

  My eyes automatically go to her chest where I see the shape of her nipples beneath her jersey. I quickly avert my eyes when I find her staring pointedly up at me.

  “Let me walk you.”

  She doesn’t argue, and I follow her as she leads the way.

  “Are you cold?” I ask when, after a few minutes, she is still continuously rubbing her hands up and down her arms, shivering as if she is in the Arctic and is seconds away from dying from frostbite.

  She smiles a little sheepishly. “A little. I left my jacket at the studio earlier. Maybe ice cream in November wasn’t such a good idea,” she says with a quiet laugh.

  I shrug out of my zip-up hoodie and wrap it around her shoulders, hating the thought of her being cold. “Here.”

  Her eyes widen with pleasant surprise, and she glances up at me. “Wow, such a gentleman,” she quips. “But won’t you be cold?” she adds on a serious note.

  I stare at her, giving her an are you kidding look. “I’m a retired hockey player, and I work at an ice rink five times a week. I think I can handle a little chill.”

  She grins while she puts her arms through the sleeves of the hoodie and hugs it around her like a blanket. “Well, in that case, thank you.”

  The next couple of minutes are fairly quiet as we continue the walk to her place, and with her attention focused in front of her, I take advantage of the quiet to simply just watch her.

  She’s so damn beautiful that it makes me want to drag the walk out for as long as possible because, after tonight, I don’t know when or if I’ll ever see her again. The prospect of never seeing her again kills me in more ways than one. We have chemistry. I knew that the moment I met her last New Year’s. As much as I wish I could pursue something with her, right now, at this point of my life, it’s just not possible.

  Tonight was fun, but reality awaits me, a
nd that reality is messy. I have no business inviting her into my crazy, fucked up life. It wouldn’t be fair to her. She just got out of a relationship with one asshole, and getting into anything with me would just have the same outcome. She deserves better. She deserves the world, and I just can’t offer her that.

  “I see you watching me,” she says with a quirk of her lips as she glances at me.

  “Well, I wasn’t exactly hiding the fact that I was staring at you. It’s kind of hard to keep my eyes to myself with you walking beside me.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Because, if you hadn’t already noticed from your little fan club back at the bar, you’re kind of beautiful.”

  “Just kind of?” she questions, as if a little insulted, but I hear the humor in her voice, too.

  “Sorry, I’m not so good with words. No, you’re not just kind of beautiful; you are beautiful.”

  Even in the dark night, I can see the blush appearing on her cheeks, and it makes her even more stunning. I get the distinct feeling no one has ever told her how breathtaking her beauty is. I know guys think she’s hot. She’s one of the sexiest girls I know who doesn’t try to be sexy; she just is sexy, but I don’t think she understands how fucking stunning she really is.

  “You’re not so bad-looking yourself.” She smirks, her eyes giving me a once-over.

  I give out a breathy laugh. “I tell you, you’re beautiful, and I get, I’m not bad-looking?”

  “That’s how it should be; the girl should always be hotter than the guy,” she states matter-of-factly, smiling up at me.

  God, she just cracks me up with her wise-ass humor.

  “You think?”

  “Yeah, always.”

  “I can’t argue with that logic since you are hotter than me and able to do things with your body that I can’t even dream of.”

  “Exactly,” she agrees.

  I just burst out laughing.

  “What?” she questions at my abrupt laughter with a perplexed look on her face.

  “Nothing. You just make me laugh. I haven’t laughed or smiled like this in such a long time. You’re a breath of fresh air. You have no idea how much I needed that tonight.”